Friday, January 30, 2015

Ar. al-malla,
Heb. Hallah, challah. Eng. halo
bread, egg bread for the Jewish Sabbath. This is a round or braided loaf of
Jewish bread which may have raisins inside. It was made in Jewish communities especially
for the Sabbath. The Hebrew word refers also to the portion of dough reserved
for the rabbi. In general, loaves of bread were round during the Middle Ages.

Hispano-Arabs also made halo bread and baked it under the ashes, not in an
oven. In Granada and Cordova, a round loaf was made that looked like a diadem
or halo. The Cordovans baked this cake especially for the New Year.The
process of baking bread under ashes was not an invention of the Arabs, who
invaded Spain in the 8th C, for it is mentioned four times in TheBible (Kings
XIX:6, Lev II:5, Ezek IV:3 and Chron IX:31). It could have been a method handed down
from the Egyptians, supposedly the first bread bakers.

It could be made with or
without oil. Jews, normally, made it unleavened, except for the Sabbath. See pan de rescoldo. [Benavides-Barajas. Nueva-Clásica. 1995:36;
and Enyc Judaica. 1971:7:Fr:1193-1194]

Hispanic period recipes do not seem to exist. The modern recipe below seems to follow historical lines.

Sprinkle
yeast over warm water in a large bowl. Beat in honey, oil, 2 eggs, and salt.
Add the flour one cup at a time, beating after each addition. Knead by hand if it becomes too thick for beaters. Knead for about 5 minutes or until smooth and
elastic and no longer sticky, adding flour as needed. Cover with a damp clean
cloth and let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in size.

If
raisins are desired, add them to the dough and knead well until evenly
distributed.

A Halo from Heavenwith Sesame SeedsPhoto by: Lord-Williams

Punch
down on the risen dough and turn it out onto floured board. Divide in half and knead
each half for 5 minutes or so, adding flour as needed to keep from getting too sticky.

Keep a glass of water on the side to dampen finger tips if the dough
becomes too dry.

Divide each half into thirds and roll them into long snakes about 1
1/2 inches in diameter. Place the 3 snakes parallel to each other and start
braiding from middle. Either leave as a long braid, curling the ends under the braid or circle it around to make a
halo, bringing ends together and pinching the ends together.
Grease
two baking trays and place finished braid or round on each.

Cover
with towel and let rise about 1 hr.

PREHEAT OVEN TO 375º F/190º C.

Beat the egg for garnishing and brush each braid generously with a paint brush.
Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds if desired.

Bake about 40 minutes. Bread should have a nice hollow sound when
thumped on the bottom. Cool on a rack for at least one hour before slicing.

Serve warm. It can be reheated in a conventional oven, not a microwave.

Ar. al-malla,
Heb. Hallah, challah. Eng. halo
bread, egg bread for the Jewish Sabbath. This is a round or braided loaf of
Jewish bread which may have raisins inside. It was made in Jewish communities especially
for the Sabbath. The Hebrew word refers also to the portion of dough reserved
for the rabbi. In general, loaves of bread were round during the Middle Ages.

Hispano-Arabs also made halo bread and baked it under the ashes, not in an
oven. In Granada and Cordova, a round loaf was made that looked like a diadem
or halo. The Cordovans baked this cake especially for the New Year.The
process of baking bread under ashes was not an invention of the Arabs, who
invaded Spain in the 8th C, for it is mentioned four times in TheBible (Kings
XIX:6, Lev II:5, Ezek IV:3 and Chron IX:31). It could have been a method handed down
from the Egyptians, supposedly the first bread bakers.

It could be made with or
without oil. Jews, normally, made it unleavened, except for the Sabbath. See pan de rescoldo. [Benavides-Barajas. Nueva-Clásica. 1995:36;
and Enyc Judaica. 1971:7:Fr:1193-1194]

Hispanic period recipes do not seem to exist. The modern recipe below seems to follow historical lines.

Sprinkle
yeast over warm water in a large bowl. Beat in honey, oil, 2 eggs, and salt.
Add the flour one cup at a time, beating after each addition. Knead by hand if it becomes too thick for beaters. Knead for about 5 minutes or until smooth and
elastic and no longer sticky, adding flour as needed. Cover with a damp clean
cloth and let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in size.

If
raisins are desired, add them to the dough and knead well until evenly
distributed.

A Halo from Heavanwith Sesame SeedsPhoto by: Lord-Williams

Punch
down on the risen dough and turn it out onto floured board. Divide in half and knead
each half for 5 minutes or so, adding flour as needed to keep from getting too sticky.

Keep a glass of water on the side to dampen finger tips if the dough
becomes too dry.

Divide each half into thirds and roll them into long snakes about 1
1/2 inches in diameter. Place the 3 snakes parallel to each other and start
braiding from middle. Either leave as a long braid, curling the ends under the braid or circle it around to make a
halo, bringing ends together and pinching the ends together.
Grease
two baking trays and place finished braid or round on each.

Cover
with towel and let rise about 1 hr.

PREHEAT OVEN TO 375º F/190º C.

Beat the egg for garnishing and brush each braid generously with a paint brush.
Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds if desired.

Bake about 40 minutes. Bread should have a nice hollow sound when
thumped on the bottom. Cool on a rack for at least one hour before slicing.

Serve warm. It can be reheated in a conventional oven, not a microwave.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

L Falco peregrinus, Eng. falcon. The name
of this bird of prey is derived from “sickle” for the hooked shape of its
talons. Its claws are powerful. In northern Spain particularly the female
peregrine was the most popular bird, which like the others was taken from its
nest before it could fly to be trained for falconry. This sport is known to
have existed during the 8th C. BC. Merchants, crusaders and
adventurers brought falcons and the art of falconry to Europe, including
England and Spain.During
the Middle Ages, it was a great sport for the noblemen. The kings and queens in Iberia and England practiced in it and displayed
great pride in their own falcons. Some were passed down from one generation to
the next as they can live 100 years. Pedro López de Ayala (1332-1407) in Libro de las aves, wrote extensively
about their hunting methods in verse.

Falconry, Doha, Qatar.

Photo from: Jan Smith

In his 15 C Libro de
caza de halcones, Alonso Velázquez de Trovar explains how to domesticate
this bird.

Female peregrines were trained to pursue other birds or game.
The male is smaller and not as agile in the chase. The peregrine is most
prevalent in Andalusia particularly and most of Spain. In Andalusia, medieval
Muslims could have used thepilgrim falcon, L. Peregrinus brookei, a
Mediterranean species of the peregrine as well.

It
should be noted that wild falcons can be destroyers
of chicken coops, dovecots and wild game. Other types of birds of prey,
eagles, hawks, vultures and owls also were used in falconry.They are trained to hunt hares, kites, storks, partridges,
larks and other animals.

With
the invention of the shotgun in the 17th C, falconry died out except
for today’s private falconry clubs. Not only were falcons used for the hunt in
Al-Andalus, but they could be consumed as food too but rarely as the meat is
tough and bitter. When consumed, it was marinated in a vinegar sauce and served
with a sweet and sour sauce. It does not seem to have been a popular item in
Al-Andalus menus for eating this bird caused melancholy.

Jews,
however, did not share this food. They interpret The Bible, Lev 11:13-19, as prohibiting the consumption of noxious
birds, including the eagle, vulture, buzzard, kite, falcon, crow and raven,
among others. In some countries the babies are baked,
see águila.

Merlin (Falco columbarius)

Photo from: Ed Post

(Waxwing for Dinner!)

Ravens, falcons, kestrels, kites, eagles and vultures
are hot and dry and digestion is slow. Physicians claimed that to eat falcons,
kestrels and other birds of pray courage inflames the heart and raises and
fortified the spirit. Avenzoar stated: The raven, vulture and kite are noxious,
not tasty and normally are not eaten. The bile of these birds of pray was used
to clean the eyes as a collyrium, to invigorate them.

The
baby falcons and kestrels were thought good tasting and raised the spirits
producing beneficial, results especially for the hypochondriac type of melancholy and other kinds of melancholy. See cetrería and cinegética.

Take a young, plump, cleaned hen; slice it on all sides
and then make for it a sauce of oil, murri naqî', a little vinegar,
crushed garlic, pepper and a little thyme. Grease all parts of the hen with
this, inside and out; then put it in the pot and pour over it whatever
remains of the sauce, and cook it; then remove the fire from beneath it and
return the cover to it and leave it until it smells good and is fried. Then
take it out and use it.

Monday, January 26, 2015

Arag, Ast, Gal, faba,OCast haua, L. Vicia
faba mino, Ar. bajilla or lūbīā, Fr. haricot (a
variety of), Eng. broad bean, fava bean. It
is believed that this legume, a native of Persia, was being cultivated by 2300
B.C. It spread through Egypt, Greece and Italy. It is not known if the fava
bean is named for the Fabios, a very noble Roman family or visa versa.

During their conquests, the Romans
took the bean to other European areas for human consumption and as horse feed.
In the Middle East, the bean was despicable food for shepherds and the lower
classes. The Hebrews carried on this contempt for the bean, calling it
commoner’s food.

broad beans (fava) DS 46092Photo from: Flavio Massari

Later the Celts spread the use of
the bean for which it has been referred to as the Celtic bean and was consumed
all over Europe. In medieval Spain, Jews served it as a good cold snack on the
Sabbath. They celebrated the Passover and other occasions with broad bean
dishes. In one of their recipes, for board beans is served as a sweet dish with
almond milk.

In Spain, they took on the good
connotations like Jack’s beanstalk was the ladder to heaven. The bean became a
lucky charm. In Christian Spain, the fava bean was not only good luck but also
an object of jest. Several regions name a person to be King Fava, the
equivalent of the Lord of the Fools, on December 28th (the European
equivalent of April 1, April Fool’s Day, in the United States) or on New Years
Eve. Traditionally he plays jokes on others or visa versa depending on the
locality. At the same time, it is known that the kings of Castile were not
jesting when they ate fava pottage. They truly liked it.

fava flowerPhoto from: matt_wilson89

In Al-Andalus, the fava flower was
one of the most treasured in Muslim gardens of the 11th C where the
fava bean had become part of ordinary food. A household staple was broad bean pottage
with chicken liver. Four varieties of the bean were known at that time, black
fava or bajema, the red or Egyptian, the white or Greek-Roman and the bachaly,
which was grown in Babylon throughout the winter. They were used in narcotics
and for attracting hunted birds such as crows and pigeons.

By the end of the 13 C, the fava
took on regional traits in cooking. Mixed with lamb, garum and vinegar, it was
served as a puree or it could be left whole and combined with noodles or
vegetables. The Anón Al-Andalus gives
two recipes for broad beans one with lamb, spinach and lettuce and the other is a
mixed vegetable dish mixed with eggs and cheese.

Fadalat gives a
recipe for pureed fava beans with lamb. Sent Soví´s are mixed
with almond milk. When in season, Nola uses almond milk or goat's milk in
his recipe for “Royal Fava Beans”.

In medieval England, fava beans
and bacon were standard fare. The
Ordiance of Pottage provides a recipe for a soup also containing leeks and
other greens. The English celebrated Christmas with pork and beans. In the
spring, they ate young beans with suckling pig.

VOLT - "Pork and Beans"Photo from: Edsel Little

As in ancient times, even today a
handful of fresh fava beans signifies a meal for many. Favas and lentils have
been as important as daily bread. There are 12 species of beans in this legume
family, some of which are green or French. This does not include beans of the Passels
vulgaris family, natives of America and unknown to Europe until the 16 C.
Although not as digestible as grain, fava beans contain more protein.
Medicinally, the bean and the flowers were consumed for their diuretic properties.
See fabada,
judía and vicias.

If you want to
prepare tender favas in almond mil kit is done like this: Frist take the
favas and wash then in hot water. After that boil them in almond milk with
oil and salt. When almost done add finely chopped parsley, marjoram and
basil. Add duke’s powder. Finally add sour grape juice and ginger shavings.

About Me

After becoming an avid researcher in college, I continued to dig up historical information from the National Library of Spain in Madrid during the decades that I lived there. Suddenly, I realized I had a large notebook/dictionary of words I did not comprehend in Old Spanish from readings of medieval classics like the Archipreste of Hita, Don Quixote etc.
While organizing this information it occurred to me to present the word that pertained to medieval cookery and a medieval recipe that has something to do with the word. taken from medieval manuscripts.
Each week I prepare three words with pertinent recipes and after trying the recipe, I share it these with you so that you cannot only learn about the etymology of the word but you can try the recipe too!
Beside the Medieval Spanish Chef Blog, I am a Airbnb hostess. See pictures of the room I rent out at the airbnb website under "The Most Magical Views of Santiago" (Chile): http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3184757